The Path of a Law
by AmyNChan
Summary: A law was once a theory. A theory once a hypothesis. A hypothesis once an idea. An idea once a foolish dream. Follow this progression through a certain scientist's mind.
1. Prolouge

_**14AmyChan: just a small little thing I thought up. It'll only be about 5 chapters, not including this**_

_**Naru: Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt, though she does own this idea.**_

Every law was once a theory. Every theory once a hypothesis. Every hypothesis once an idea. And every idea once no more than a foolish dream.

Every law has had to pass through each stage in order to become a socially accepted irrefutable truth. This applies to the laws of society, the laws of etiquette, the laws of morality…

…and the laws of the heart.

_**14AmyChan: short prologue is short. Review if you wanna see where this leads~! Mwahaha! *^_^***_


	2. Foolish Dream

_**14AmyChan: I got a review and a fav, so I'm just gonna put this chapter up right here. *^_^***_

_**Naru: Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt.**_

A foolish dream (n): an idea, thought, or goal that is deemed impossible, unattainable, or foolhardy by the majority.

* * *

Oliver Davis shook his head to rid it of illogical and—quite frankly—distracting thoughts. He had no time to dwell on the fact that he was a teenager with working hormones. He had not a moment to spare to consider how that fact scared him, especially given what havoc his abilities could wreak if he allowed those hormones control over his mental state.

He picked up another map and drew a large red "X" through yet another fruitless lake. With all of this time in depressing thought, it was supposedly natural that his subconscious look for something lighter to balance out the darkness.

One of the many reasons that the clumsy assistant outside even had a job. Other reasons included his own empathy and the fact that she ran into trouble more often than not. That trouble had the potential to assist him in solving cases faster, giving him more time to search for the lake of his dreaded vision.

It was absolutely untrue that he insisted on keeping her around because of the possibility that he had formed an _attachment_ towards the brunette. Absolutely not. It was foolhardy. And besides that, he had only hired her one week ago.

Yet that did little to explain the satisfaction he earned from hearing her come into work every day, albeit late. Perhaps it was because he had hired her rather than his parents. Perhaps it was something else.

Oliver shook his head once again to rid his mind of this foolish dream and returned to his maps.

_**14AmyChan: Part one down, four to go!**_

_**Naru: *glares***_

_**14AmyChan: Please read and review~! *^_^***_


	3. Idea

_**14AmyChan: Okay, next chapter. Still short, but whatevs. XD**_

_**Naru: Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt.**_

Idea (n): any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity

* * *

The young man studied his file folder intently, looking over it for anything he could have possibly missed.

A single comment he had made earlier, a mere slip of the tongue, was now coming back and tickling the back of his brain. It was bothering him more than it should be. Minnie was looking for other children: why? This was the question he had been considering. To illustrate why that in itself was an odd thing, he had pointed out lonely children should look for mother figures, such as Noriko-san or Mai.

Ever since that comment, the image of Mai as a mother figure had been tickling at the back of his otherwise single-track mind, attempting to steer him off-course.

_Ludicrous, she's good with children;_ he rationalized to himself as he sifted through yet another sentence. _Obviously that analogy is correct._

Nodding to himself, Oliver sifted through another file, a vast majority of his brain puzzling over this case.

The other, very tiny, portion of his brain was still hung up on the idea that Mai would make a very good mother one day to very lucky children. He did not, however, want to let his mind wander about who the father would be for reasons he did not wish to even fathom.

_**14AmyChan: Tune in tomorrow for a hypothesis~! *^_^***_

_**Naru: Review on the idea to get the hypothesis.**_

_**14AmyChan: Yeah, that **__**is**__** generally how it works. ^^;**_


	4. Hypothesis

_**14AmyChan: Okay, so this one's a touch longer, so I hope you enjoy it~! *^_^***_

_**Naru: I think they've been waiting for this since you stated "foolish dream"**_

_**14AmyChan: It's a slow process! One does not simply say "I'm in love" overnight. It's a process!**_

_**Naru: Now that you have understood that concept, we will point out that Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt.**_

_**14AmyChan: Nope nope. Or any other obscure references I may make, knowledgeable or otherwise.**_

Hypothesis (n): a proposition, or set of propositions, set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena, either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide investigation (working hypothesis) or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts.

* * *

What were a few of the facts that led to this moment? Oliver listed them in his head.

Fact: He had intruded on a ghost story session during one of his cases.

Fact: He had hired one of those girls after finishing said case.

Fact: This girl had established an unorthodox routine in his office that he had come to begrudgingly accept as a way of life now that he had this girl _in_ his life.

Fact: This girl had been with him on a few cases before this one, leading him to allow himself to somewhat _depend_ on her instincts and good hunches.

Fact: This girl had done nothing extraordinary to achieve the previous two facts, simply be herself.

Oliver Davis thought briefly on these facts while he walked around the schoolyard, searching for anything—or any_one_—out of the ordinary. As of late, his assistant had been raising more queries in his mind, and most of them were about her place in his life. No mere assistant could get him to bend over as he had for her, but he was not sure if they were quite friends. More than assistant, less than a friend for now, and taking up more space in his mind than she should.

_Always poking her nose into places where she oughtn't,_ Oliver thought, though the inkling was dismissed as he kept a keen eye around himself. It was then that he noted something by the gate. A certain small someone of his thoughts hoisting herself over the fence and to the other side, seemingly searching for something.

Without his bidding, Oliver shifted directions and followed his petite assistant towards the gate. Though why the girl had hoisted herself over when there was a perfectly functioning door right there was beyond him.

_Oh, it's locked_, he noted dully as he called out to her. Upon receiving an explanation from the girl halfway down the manhole, he was able to deduce that she had been tricked in a matter of seconds. He placed his hand on the padlock and wondered if he should tell her to get out of the manhole and climb back over or if he should go get the key when he heard her shriek.

_Clink!_

The padlock was broken in an instant with a small amount of PK as he rushed to the girl who was surely falling in.

"I-I'm okay," she tried to assure him as he approached her. She was trying to pull herself out, though Naru could already tell. She, too, had fallen victim to the curse that was going around. Thoughts of her becoming as grievously injured as some of the previous recipients of the curse propelled him forward faster.

When her fingers slipped, he had thought he would not make it in time, and nearly let out a sigh of relief when he had. _It's not through yet, though,_ he cautioned himself as he instructed the obviously shaken girl to begin climbing back up. He was slightly impressed with her strength. She was petrified, but not crying. And still coherent enough to follow simple orders.

She took his word and began doing as he directed, but that was when the ladder broke. Her weight shifted so suddenly so drastically and Oliver found that he could not keep his grip on her and stay on the surface at the same time.

He, too, fell into the manhole.

And at that moment, he formed a hypothesis. A hypothesis about why he would do anything for this girl. From allowing their coworkers to partake in their tea to falling down a manhole where they could both become seriously injured. The hypothesis concerned as to _why_ he would do such things for this girl. For a certain Mai Taniyama.

Though he would hold off on addressing that one until the time were appropriate. For now, there was a set of debris that he had to move.

He concentrated.

_**14AmyChan: Okay, so I was rewatching this scene to get reference because I was **__**going**__** to have him thinking when he was already in the well, but then I noticed something. Mai climbed **__**over**__** the fence. Naru went **__**through the gate**__**. My personal theory is that he used some of his PK to undo the lock, because if a child was in danger and there were an open gate nearby, Mai would use the gate.**_

_**Naru: Now that that unnecessary explanation is out of the way.**_

_**14AmyChan: Hrmph!**_

_**Naru: Review on this hypothesis to gain a theory.**_

_**14AmyChan: Nice way of saying it, Naru.**_

_**Naru: My brain works differently than yours.**_

_**14AmyChan: Wanna bet, narcissist?**_


	5. Theory

_**14AmyChan: Okay, a theory arises in the brilliant mind of Oliver Davis, but what does it take to achieve this?**_

_**Naru: Only the drama that everybody so thoroughly enjoys**_

_**14AmyChan: Indeed. I don't own Ghost Hunt! *^_^***_

Theory (n): a coherent group of tested general propositions, commonly regarded as correct, that can be used as principles of explanation and prediction for a class of phenomena.

* * *

Oliver did not put much else thought into his hypothesis. He always gave it a second glance whenever Mai were in danger, arguing with him, or making too much noise in the office, but had not actually expanded upon it. He did not test it for several reasons. One was that it was simply not professional, but the other—vastly more important—reason was that he was not in Japan to create or expand upon these frivolous ideas.

He was here to find his brother. And then he would be going home.

In hindsight, even _thinking_ of this hypothesis was not a smart way to keep his distance from _all_ of Japan's SPR members. He was to do that if he were to go home with no regrets, or so he told himself.

Now, he was pacing through the forest, trying to sort through everything that had happened to him in the span of a few short hours. The divers were currently dredging the lake for Eugene, the combined efforts of Bou-san, Yasuhara-san, and Father Brown had unveiled his secret to the entire SPR, and his parents were coming in. Everything was happening so swiftly after a long time of absolutely nothing.

_Good,_ he thought as he continued to walk, his scientific mind spurring to action. Many objectives were being completed at once. That was a good thing.

"…mean!" a familiar female voice complained from just ahead. Oliver looked up and realized that Mai was looking behind a tree with one of her angry faces. Usually the one she used whenever Oliver had insulted her in the office.

_I suppose there won't be much of that anymore,_ he thought somewhat aimlessly before approaching the girl. He supposed if things were getting done rapidly about now, he himself could work on this hypothesis that had been drifting around in the back of his mind for about as long as he had worked with the girl.

The hypothesis that he perhaps cared for the girl.

However, as the conversation wore on, Oliver could tell. In her voice, in her mannerisms, in the way she refused to share information with him even though she were an open book. He could tell. She had met him, and he had met her. As she asked more about him, Oliver could feel himself close off more and more. To her.

To she who had been slowly opening him up since the day they met. And now he was beginning to shut her out. He had started talking with her to figure out an answer to his silent question, but now he was not so sure he wanted the answer. For either of their sakes.

"I like you," she finally said, and he felt as though a bombshell had just gone off. He tried to wave her off, but she simply insulted him and continued. "You're so slow…"

_No,_ he thought sadly. _I'm all too quick…_

"I meant I like you in a very special way," she amended, a small smile on her face. It was hopeful, he was surprised for a moment. He looked away from her, taking a second to decide what to do. How should he handle this? What was the poor boy to do when it was evident that he was not the desired twin? How could he get an answer now?

Perhaps… perhaps with one question.

And so he asked. He kept a small smile on his face, his eyes holding a knowing look. He waited it out as Mai cried, and he knew that he had lost. The mere thought brought a frown to his face for multiple reasons. For one, he had lost Mai to his brother, and that was a huge blow, as his hypothesis was that he was beginning to care for the girl very much. For another, he had found his answer.

He cared for her, but knew he could do nothing about it.

He turned his head away and refused to look at her through the remainder of the conversation. He did try to make her feel better, though, if only that assuring her that she would see Eugene again. By telling her that he was used to being confused for his better twin brother so that she need not feel bad for him. By staying around while she cried, rather than leaving her to her tears. As their conversation abruptly ended, he knew one thing.

He had gotten an answer to the question of his own feelings. He definitely cared for the girl, and while he could make a few solid theories on Mai's feelings, he could not make an absolute statement. After all…

She had not given an answer. So it was still just a theory.

_**14AmyChan: I went back and read the manga to get this scene right, and I realized that the fandom kinda warped it. It was on a sunny day, and Oliver stayed there for the rest of the conversation and tried to comfort Mai in his Oliver-esque way.**_

_**Naru: I am offended by what these people think of me.**_

_**14AmyChan: It's a fandom, the vast majority kinda rules. XD**_

_**Naru: *glares* Review.**_

_**14AmyChan: ^^;**_


	6. Law

_**14AmyChan: Okay, so this is the last of it!**_

_**Naru: Finally...**_

_**14AmyChan: I'm not sure how it came out, but I hope you like it! I don't own Ghost Hunt!**_

Law (n): a statement regarded as an absolute truth or a rule enforced by a greater authority.

* * *

Oliver had returned to Japan for several reasons. One was that the cases were vastly more interesting, as evidenced by his first case upon returning. It had been a combination of both human and supernatural interference, though it had been speckled by the interference of an incompetent undercover detective whose beliefs swayed in the breeze.

Another was that he had missed running the show on his own. In Japan, he had complete control over the cases they took, and had a responsibility to all who were on his team. It was something that he had missed somehow, and he was grateful when he was permitted to return upon giving these reasons to his parents.

The last reason was entirely selfish on his part. While he had a strong theory that Mai had affections for Gene, he could not keep away from her forever. He would have nightmares each night of the girl finding yet another way to get herself into trouble, and without him to protect her, she may join her grave far too early. That trouble-seeking ability of hers that had intrigued him once upon a time was now haunting him. He had returned to ensure himself that she was safe.

Of course, no one else knew of this. His observations on his own heart and his theory on Mai's had always been kept private, and no one else knew of them. This was how he liked it.

For five years, this was how things had gone. He kept an eye on Mai, content to keep her safe from potential harm. Whenever she glanced at him when she ought not to have, he wondered if she were seeing Gene. To help dispel any illusion that she might have, he would not smile at her, not has he had on that day. Even though there were some times where he wished to do so.

"Mai, tea!" Oliver called when he thought she had been quiet for too long. The girl could be quite a danger to herself and to others, and he had to make sure she was all right without allowing her to figure out his intentions.

He waited for a short while, curious. Yes, he heard that she was moving, so she had not fallen asleep—a habit that the girl _still_ had not kicked—but it was far too quiet. She was not bustling, not cursing his name, not even clinking the china loudly in frustration. He was certain that if he did not keep the door in the corner of his eye he would not have even noticed her come in. She was so silent.

She turned and began to move out of the office, just as silently, when she suddenly stopped. She turned to him, careful confusion and a small—yet obviously faux—smile over her features.

"Yes, Naru?" she asked, and it was then that the boy realized he had called out for her to wait.

_It can't be helped, I suppose,_ he thought as he gestured for her to sit down. She did so with the slightest of hesitancies, but otherwise with no fight. As her eyes diverted towards her lap, his eyes narrowed.

"Your behavior for the past two weeks has been…odd," he stated professionally, only hesitating at the end to find a suitable word. He could not tell her that it was _worrisome_, simply odd. Mai took it all in silence.

She expected him to explain.

He expected her to explain.

The office was quiet for a few more moments before she finally said something.

"I simply have a lot on my mind," she admitted, looking down. Oliver could not get a decent look at her eyes, that from which most of Mai's secrets spilled. He could, however, tell a lot from what she was not saying, how she sat, and how she responded.

"I see," he mused, observing her. The confidence that she had built on the last few years was dampened, but not gone. She was sitting tall, but her head was down. Oliver could see that she had an urge to bite her lip, a nervous tick that she had.

_Why is she nervous…?_ he thought, but what was more disturbing to him was the fact that she was not extruding her normal fighting spirit and that she refused to look at him. His frown deepened.

"What's troubling you?" he asked. He did not explain the question, as he felt he had no reason to explain. Even if he had _wanted_ to explain, Mai was too quick in her response.

"It won't interfere with work, I promise," she hastily said, obviously hoping to avert the question. The raven haired man would have none of it.

"In case you haven't noticed, it _is_ affecting your work," he mentioned. "It is interfering with your normal behavior patterns and causing worry in all of your coworkers. I do believe that the Takigawas have already tried talking to you about it, yet you have only brushed them off. As well as Hara-san, Father Brown, Yasuhara-san, and even Lin."

Mai's eyes snapped up for a moment before returning to her lap, though Oliver had already seen.

She was frightened.

The young man clenched his fist. He did not want to see her afraid, or scared. Part of his reason in returning was to protect her from such things, but there was only so much he could do as her boss, and only a little more as her friend.

"What are you afraid of?" he asked, forcing his voice to remain calm. An almost imperceptible shake of Mai's head prompted him to ask the question again. "Mai, what is it that's scaring you?"

Oliver did not know if it were the rewording of the question or the softer tone with which he had said it, but he finally coaxed out an answer.

"I'm not afraid," she whispered. She then cleared her throat and continued. "I'm not afraid. I've just been thinking."

"About something that scares you?" he pressed. She shook her head before fiddling with her fingers on her lap. Oliver noted in the back of his mind that she wore no jewelry.

"About something I regret."

Her words puzzled him, and given that she would not look at him he could not pick up any answers from within her cinnamon orbs of vision. Oliver was left completely clueless, but he wanted to help. Somehow, he wanted to help if only to bring his normal Mai back.

"Did something happen recently?" he asked, trying to root out the source of the problem that she was so hesitant to reveal. She shook her head.

"No, it happened a long while ago," she admitted. Oliver was confused.

"Then why is it bothering you now instead of then?" he asked. The lack of formal language caused Mai's eyes to flicker up again once more before fleeing to her lap again.

Surprise.

"A lot of things hit me at once then, and I couldn't deal with it all. By the time I wanted to deal with my regret, I thought it would be better if I tried to forget about it and move on," she explained. Oliver thought about this for a moment. Clearly, he was making more progress than the rest of the team as to the cause of Mai's behavior, but he was unsure if this were because she trusted him, because he was making her tell him, or because he was a part of the problem.

"But lately I've been seeing that I can't just forget about it and move on," Mai continued, her hands now moving towards her now longer hair. Over the past five years it had grown halfway down her back. "So now I need to deal with it, but I don't know how to even start…"

"Does this regret involve someone else?" he asked. He had a sinking feeling in his gut when she nodded timidly, finally succumbing to biting her lip.

_She's __really__ nervous now. Why?_ he thought.

"Can you get a hold of that person?" he pressed. Mai nodded once more. Her hands stopped moving in her hair and she simply held it there. This was really scaring her. Oliver knew he should probably say something comforting, however…

"Then you should talk to that person, and sort out the event that has caused you regret," he stated as though it were a simple matter. Scientifically, it _was_ a simple matter. She needed to clear the air with whoever had made her feel this regret. "Because if you don't, this feeling will only become stronger and stronger. It will infect everything you do."

Mai's hands were trembling, and Oliver hoped he had said the right thing. There was only so much he could do for her; he could not take her regret away. That was his place in her life.

The theory still reigned that was Gene's department.

Mai took a deep breath, and Oliver hoped she was at least thinking about doing as he suggested. She then whispered something, so low that he missed the first portion.

"…you."

"You're welcome," he responded and Mai's entire face snapped up in disbelief. What? He had a heart and he knew how to take gratitude every once in a while. "Now you should probably find that person and sort this out. Is this person far away?"

Mai shook her head, seemingly at a loss for words. Oliver sighed as he looked towards his coat thoughtfully. He was fully prepared to walk her to where she needed to go if need be. Anything to get his Mai back.

Even if she was technically _not_ his.

"Then—"

"It's you," she repeated, slightly louder this time. Oliver's heart stopped for a moment, knowing instantly to what she was referring.

"You are regretful because of something I have done?" he inquired, attempting to stall and yet not quite knowing how. He supposed that beating around the bush was a happy medium.

Or a stupid one.

Before Oliver could shake the thought from his head, Mai responded, almost tripping over her words.

"Yes—well, no—I mean not totally—I mean you kinda started it—but that's not to say—I mean you just asked a question and I responded badly—but I know it's not gonna happen—I mean I know I'm not—what I mean to say is—ug!" Mai shook her head and placed her face into her palms, effectively hiding her face from Oliver. He, for his part, was very confused.

"Mai, you need to slow down and start from the beginning," he stated, almost robotically. His heart was beating wildly, wondering why on the face of this planet he was willing to hash through his pain again.

Fact: He would do anything for this girl. Even rehash emotional pain.

"You remember the beginning," she accused quietly. Oliver sighed.

"Between the two of us, there are several beginnings," he responded. There was the beginning meaning how they met, the beginning of their working relationship, the beginning of their new working relationship once they had discovered his identity, the beginning of their friendship. There were many to choose from. "Which one are you referring to?"

Though he already knew.

"You asked me if it was you or Gene," she said, somehow gaining her confidence. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. Oliver returned her stare, though a part of him wanted to lock this conversation away and throw the key in the rubbish. Instead, he nodded to show his remembrance of the event.

"Gene taught me and led me through your visions. He warned me of danger on cases and was generally kind to me," she explained, though her voice was trembling.

"That was Gene. That stupid medium never changed, not even after death," he jabbed. Doing that made it feel as though his brother were still around to return the volley. However, he was talking to Mai now. Not Gene, Mai.

The girl nodded. "Because he was kind to me, I looked for kindness in you," she explained. Oliver thought that perhaps this was going to be the point where she apologized again for mixing them up and giving her answer.

"I take it that you found none," he stated. Mai shook her head.

"It's not Gene's kindness that kept me coming to work, Naru," she said. "It was your own. You always look out for and protect others. You work your hardest to get things right the first time so no one gets hurt to need a second go-through. You're blunt and honest and sometimes you could use some people skills, but that's not to say that you're unkind."

"You're delusional," he denied, keeping his eye on the coat rack. But was she really? It was true that he often saved her when she needed it. It was correct that he cared for her, but there was no way the kindness that she spoke of was his own. It had to be Gene's.

Oliver was not kind.

"Maybe, but I know what I see in a person," she admitted. "No one is wholly good or wholly bad. Everyone has bits of both in them, and I happen to like the good parts of you as well as the bad."

"You said you would choose the good personality," he recalled as a standing point for his theory. Mai nodded.

"True, but what is your definition of a good personality? If social skills make a person good, then every con-man is a saint," she rebuked with a smile. Her ridiculous analogy made Oliver want to smirk, but now was not the time. "Naru is a good person with a good heart; he's just difficult to get to. And that's what makes him better to me."

Oliver wanted to stop everything for a moment and get his facts straight. Life was being unfair to him right now. He cared for her, and she was tempting his wise decision to not let her come any closer to him. He wanted to tell her that he accepted, but he found he could not. He had to be absolutely sure that she was not confusing the two of them. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, yet he could not think of a way—

_Paff._

A photograph was set on his desk. Oliver turned to look and his eyes widened fractionally. Mai still had the picture he had given her as a comfort for Gene's passing onto the next stage of the afterlife. Her finger rested right above the head of his younger self.

"I choose Oliver," she stated. Oliver looked up into her eyes and saw that she was about ready to have a few tears spill over. The sight made him want to hold her close and provide her some sort of comfort, but he was still somewhat shell shocked. He could not move. "The answer is you. Now if you wish to reject me, please do it plainly so I can leave with no regrets."

As he looked at her, studying her, he came to another conclusion. His theory had been disproved by the very person who it revolved around.

"Mai," he stated firmly, his eyes now alight. He was going to set the record straight with her and tell her what he had just discovered.

The law of their hearts was that they loved one another. And that was how it was going to stay.

_**14AmyChan: Okay, all done~! *^_^***_

_**Naru: ...**_

_**14AmyChan: Please read and review and I hope you liked it~! *^_^***_


	7. Epilogue: Amendment

_**14AmyChan: okay, some of you guys asked for more, so I thought I'd toss in this one last snippet!**_

_**Naru: this is an "amendment" to the law.**_

_**14AmyChan: yup! Cause laws can gain additions! *^_^***_

_**Naru: Chan-san doesn't own Ghost Hunt.**_

_**14AmyChan: nope,** **nope!**_

Nine years. That was how long it had taken them to reach this point. From their first meeting to now, it had taken one hundred and eight months.

Thoughts such as these swirled about in Oliver Davis's mind as he stood there, waiting. He was by no means a sentimental man, nor one that had spontaneously transformed to include an open heart and kind words. No, he was still the same Oliver Davis that his coworkers and family knew. The same one that _she_ knew.

People walked up the narrow passageway, and Oliver paid them little to no heed. Their faces ran together yet stood out for him. Some he knew as well as the study he had passionately pursued for years. A few he was sure he had not seen before. But they did not matter much at this point. Not now.

Not when she came into view.

Oliver had never been one for the intricacies of the human language, but he knew of many words that could describe what some might call "beautiful". Majestic. Royal. Picturesque. Awe-inspiring. Breathtaking. Gorgeous. Lovely. Divine. Despite the wide selection of diction at his disposal, to Oliver, one word outshone all of these feeble suggestions.

Mai.

Standing there, waiting for her, Oliver could not repress the smirk that flitted across his face. Nor could he prevent himself from vaguely wondering how the naturally clumsy Mai would walk so gracefully today. She had chosen white flats for the occasion, which might have aided in her attempt-and current success-in grace. The dress she wore was also beautiful, but it paled in comparison the the joy-filled face that he knew.

She was still there, under all of that makeup and glamour. She was still the girl who had stubbornly accepted him and loved him, and still the girl he loved very much in return. Whilst dating, they had gotten into spats, they had enjoyed good moments, they had learned and grown together. Oliver had always relished in a challenge, and she had proven the most exhilarating and promising of them all.

He held his arm out towards her, and she allowed her hand to be guided into his own.

_So_, _this_ _is_ _happiness_... Oliver thought as he kept a hold on her. Her fingers-so delicate and small-had quite the grip on his own. He ran his thumb against the knuckles of her hand, slowly easing them into a comfortable hold. Yes, this was happiness. Or, a very large portion of it, at least.

"Mai-san and Oliver-san have written their own vows," John announced to the congregation. Mai fumbled for a moment before turning to Masako, who passed her a few note cards. Oliver chose not to comment on her unusual preparedness as she began.

"I..um... I wrote down the words in case I got really nervous and forgot them," Mai chuckled before looking down at the cards for a moment. She handed them back to Masako with a quick "On second thought, I won't use them."

Oliver rolled his eyes, having expected this. When had Mai ever conformed to structure? Answer: She never had and most likely never will. Before he could delve any more thought in the matter, Mai had again captured him with her large cinnamon eyes.

"I met you as Kazuya Shibuya, nine years ago. I later named you Naru and I have been that annoying itch behind your ear ever since, and you haven't gotten rid of me yet," Mai chuckled, and it was all Oliver heard. Of course, others had laughed with her, but her laughter was the most important to him. Mai took a shaky breath before continuing.

"Now I want to call you something new, and when I call you my husband, I want you to know that it means I will always love you, cherish you, care for you, and stay by your side for as long as I possibly can, regardless of whatever circumstances come our way. This means you won't ever get rid of me, you got that?"

Oliver chuckled lowly, only for Mai to hear. She beamed happily as attention turned from her to him, waiting for him to speak his vows.

"When I met you, having a source of warmth as bright as you around me was no more than a foolish notion. Through time you introduced the idea that companionship was not to be avoided entirely. That idea formed a hypothesis of a relationship with you. After one false theory, this law came to be known, and now I am adding upon it," Oliver stated. While the auditorium was abuzz with the fact that Oliver Davis was speaking of the scientific method at his own wedding, Mai's eyes shone with understanding, remembering how he had explained the process as he had confessed to her.

She was understanding this statement, and that was all that was required. Oliver continued. "As I take you to be my wife, know this means I will care for you, protect you, support you, treasure you, and I will love you. Mai, this means you are properly stuck with me for the rest of our lives."

His light warning was met with a smile from Mai, her eyes tearing up. Oliver instinctually brushed the tears away from her face, and barely received the priest's blessing and permission when his lips descended on hers. A kiss that began their lives as Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Davis.

_This_ _is_ _definitely_ _happiness_, the two vaguely thought as they enjoyed their own little world for a few moments.

* * *

14AmyChan: OK, no more for reals this time! XD

Naru: don't you have to-

14AmyChan: *asleep*

Naru: *sighs and walks out to Mai and their car, sloppily painted "just married" on the back*


End file.
